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Triangle Pigskin Preview

Today was the annual Triangle Pigskin Preview held over at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham. All 3 Triangle ACC schools were represented, along with North Carolina Central and, for the first time, East Carolina. All 5 head coaches made appearances on behalf of their respective schools: Butch Davis (North Carolina), David Cutcliffe (Duke), Tom O’Brien (NC State), Ruffin McNeil (ECU), and Henry Fraizer (NCCU). Why does NCCU always get invited? Let us know when you have an answer.

New NCCU Head Football Coach Henry Frazier

Overall, there was nothing earth shattering and a whole lot of “we’ve been waiting for this,” “August is where we win championships,” and “we have a lot of confidence in the new guys.” It was interesting to see the demeanor of the coaches, however.

Duke’s Cutcliffe and O’Brien of NC State were their normal selves. Cutcliffe was very outspoken and told some great stories and jokes. O’Brien was dry, light, and had a deceptive sense of humor. He also sang the praises of Mike Glennon being a leader (good to hear, Pack fans). ECU’s McNeil sounded like he had ran to Durham from Greenville, although to his credit he said he had lost over 40 lbs since last winter. It showed as well. He credited ECU doctors in what he would only describe as a “hip replacement” and “experimental weight loss surgery.” Central’s Frazier had his moments as well, but you could tell it was his first experience being the head man and in front of the media. Central is Central, however, and I’m sure no one outside that room cared. He did have some optimism about his program though.

That brings us to Butch Davis, the indestructible man. Usually Davis is fairly outgoing and hard to shake. Today, he just seemed like he was done with life. He was distant, short, and hesitant to answer anything related to the NCAA investigation into his sinking ship. He started off trying to crack a joke about trading places with other coaches’ summers, but it was all downhill from there. He immediately said that he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, comment on most of what is going down over at Kenan. During the actual luncheon, reporters don’t have an opportunity to interact with coaches as the event is emceed and light hearted banter is passed around. After it was over, however, Davis was swarmed and held an impromptu PC. He said he never “once thought” about not being unc-ch’s coach this upcoming season and that the whole ordeal has put his program on “unstable footing” for the time being. Unstable? Unstable as in earthquake-unstable, yes? Has Butch even wandered out of his cave since the 2010 season ended? Does he know about the storm coming ashore Chapel Hill? Ever since the kids at PackPride uncovered the McAdoo “situation,” the media has started to turn against unc-c. Now they’re demanding that Davis turn over cell phone records from his primary cell phone, the infamous “216.” Davis said he will do so, although he will “redact” some information to keep “personal contacts” private. He also stated there will not be a timetable for the release of those records. In addition, he said he has not kept with Marvin Austin since his release, twitter (@anchormanaustin) or otherwise. When a question was posed about Austin’s recent tweets, claiming more indiscretion against the program, Davis simply replied, “Marvin knows that I am completely ethical and that I always do the right thing.” Sweating like a whore in church, Davis ended it there.